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Privert Caught in a Web of Political Uncertainty

Jocelerme Privert after becoming Haiti's interim president on February 14, 2016.

Haiti’s National Assembly began discussions on Tuesday as to whether to prolong Jocelerme Privert’s presidency until the country’s interrupted elections are completed early next year. This is despite the fact that a February 5 political agreement stipulated that Privert’s transitional government would be obliged to step down no later than June 14. In the midst of pro and anti-Privert protests and marches, EU and U.S. officials warn that the Haitian government must promptly ensure that Haitians are able to cast their votes and elect a new president before more violence and chaos erupts. Meanwhile, as Jacqueline Charles expresses in the Miami Herald, Privert continues to take on his presidential duties; in fact, “this week he…[dropped] in on a radio station’s celebration, [made] a surprise visit to the general hospital where residents have been on strike for three months, and [attended] a celebration in the Grand Anse Department.”